Purple pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
The leaf and root are used as medicine. Pitcher plant is taken by mouth for digestive disorders, particularly constipation; for urinary tract diseases and fluid retention; as a cure for smallpox; and to prevent scar formation. A pitcher plant extract (Sarapin) is given as a shot
An old herbal remedy for treating smallpox that is thought to have been used by native Americans in the late 1800s has been rediscovered and found to kill the poxvirus. Smallpox has been eradicated but the finding offers a possible treatment for poxvirus in the unlikely event of a bioterror attack or increased incidence of similar poxviruses such as monkey pox.
Smallpox ravaged human populations for thousands of years but in 1796 Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to cowpox lesions could provide immunity to smallpox.This led to the creation of the first vaccine for a disease.It took some time but in 1979 the World Health Organization officially declared that smallpox had been eradicated